


Late Night Call

by BrianJustin4Ever



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Episode Tag, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 09:01:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8743693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrianJustin4Ever/pseuds/BrianJustin4Ever
Summary: Tag to 12x5 The Anti-Terrorism Squad. Derek gets call.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've been meaning to write a tag for this episode. Like a lot of Reid fans, I was disappointed that he was barely in an episode when there was a scene that was a parallel to what he went through while in high school. That had to be rectified.

Derek kissed Savannah, but he pulled away when he heard his cell phone ring. He moved off of her for just a moment and grabbed it from the side table. He looked at the screen and murmured, "It's Reid." He gazed at his wife.

She sat up. "Answer it. If he's calling this late, it must be important."

He smiled at her gratefully. He pressed a button and put his phone to his ear. "Hey, Pretty Boy. Haven't talked to you in a couple of weeks. What do I owe the pleasure?"

There was silence for a moment. When Reid finally began, his words were stilted. "I know it's late, and..."

Derek's eyebrows furrowed. Savannah had been right. Something was definitely wrong. He got up from the bed and walked out of the bedroom after shooting an apologetic look at Savannah. "Spencer? What's wrong?"

"It was a case."

Derek nodded, having already figured that much out. "A bad one?"

"Not one of the worse we had, but..."

"But..." Derek gently prodded. He knew he couldn't rush Reid; otherwise, the genius would clam up and not get anything off of his chest.

"The unsub was a teenager that had been bullied badly."

Derek closed his eyes. Those were the cases that always hit Reid the hardest because of his own experiences as a child. "Are you okay?"

"He could have been me," Reid murmured.

"Stop it, Kid. You might be able to empathize, but there's no way—"

"The unsub had been taped naked to a goal post in front of his classmates and humiliated!" Reid blurted out, interrupting Derek.

The dark skinned former agent felt his breath catch. He still remembered the story Reid trusted him with during the Owen Savage case, and the scenario was eerily the same. "Okay, Spencer, I understand why this has hit so close to home for you. What happened to you is pretty identical to what happened to the unsub. _But_ you two are not the same. You took your experiences and decided to help, do some good. Your unsub decided vengeance was what he wanted."

"I wasn't there for the takedown; Emily handled it, and she did a wonderful job, but I feel like I _should_ have been there. You know?"

Derek smiled sadly. "I know, but considering what happened the last time, maybe it was good thing that you weren't near it."

"Maybe," Reid admitted. He paused.

Derek patiently waited.

"I haven't really thought about _it_ since the Owen Savage case, but seeing a case where the unsub suffered in the same way, it just..."

"It brought back all of the memories of _your_ humiliation. _Your_ pain," Derek finished.

"Yeah. You are the only one that knows what happened to me. You're the only one I even felt like I could talk to after this case, but I'm sorry I called—"

"Don't," Derek interrupted. "Never apologize for calling when you need to talk. We're friends. I might not be on the team any longer, but you can always call me if you need someone to talk to. That hasn't changed, and that won't change. Are we clear?"

"Yeah, thanks. Things might not be fixed, but I do feel better."

"It's a wonder what talking can do for a person," Derek lightly joked, relieved that Reid sounded a bit better.

"Yeah, I should let you get back to Savannah."

"Kid, are sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Bye."

Derek heard the click and took the phone from his ear as he walked back into the bedroom.

"Is Spencer okay?" Savannah asked, a worried frown on her face.

"I think so. He just needed someone to listen. I was thinking, maybe if there's no case for the BAU this weekend, we can have Spencer over for dinner on Saturday."

Savannah smiled. "Big Brother Derek needs to see with his own two eyes that Spencer's truly okay, huh?"

Derek didn't deny his ulterior motive. Instead, he said, "Maybe, and that way Spencer can spend some time with Hank as well."

Savannah nodded. "Okay. Dinner with Spencer on Saturday."

Derek climbed back into bed. He moved to kiss her, finally shutting his mind off as her soft body became pliant under his.


End file.
